engleski

Free fatty acid content and learning ability in pentylentetrazol-treated rats

Preserved morphological and functional cell membrane integrity is fundamental for normal functioning of brain cells. Seizure activity, when continued for a sufficient time, induces neuronal death. Seizures trigger a variety of biochemical processes including an influx of extracellular Ca2+ , activation of membrane phospholipases, liberation of free fatty acids (FFA), diacylglycerols, eicosanoids, lipid peroxides and free radicals. These lipid metabolites along with abnormal ion homeostasis may be involved in cell injury and death. Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) is one of the most often used epileptic agents in antiepileptic drug screening protocols. The aim of our study was to determine the influence of PTZ- induced seizures on the brain FFA level and learning ability in rats. Some animals received PTZ (50 mg/kg i.p.) and were decapitated 5 minutes after the appearance of epileptic seizures. The brains were quickly removed and samples were taken from cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus and pons-medulla oblongata. Lipids were extracted from the whole brains and specific regions. FFA were separated using TLC and after methylation quantified by gas chromatography. The other animals were trained in a passive avoidance procedure and received PTZ immediately after the learning trial response had been acquired. A passive avoidance retention test was performed 24 hours later. The results of our experiments have shown that PTZ produced seizure activity 5 minutes after the application, but did not influence neither brain FFA content nor the passive avoidance behaviour in rats. Obtained data suggests that PTZ in doses sufficient for seizure induction did not produce significant changes in the level of investigated biochemical parameters and learning ability in rats.

pentylenetetrazol; epilepsy; brain; free fatty acids; rat

nije evidentirano